Sustainable and tasty – welcome to The Eco Bar

November 15, 2017

Fermentation, going local and the life of the bee. There was inspiration aplenty in The Eco Bar at this year’s Athens Bar Show.

There was an abundance of great spirits and an exceptional choice of fantastic cocktails to sample over the two day event last week, but given our support for sustainability in the drinks world there was a particular stand out for us. The Eco Bar was a unique collaboration between Panos Kanatsoulis, winner of Greek World Class Bartender of the Year 2017, and Diageo. Taking inspiration from three key trends Panos created three new serves, each telling a unique sustainability story.

The man with the eco plan, Panos Kanatsoulis

Get fermenting

Whilst refrigerators and freezers are necessary in bars, they consume a fair bit of energy. Instead Panos looked to traditional preservation techniques from the past, using salt, sugar, vinegar and alcohol. During this kind of fermentation an environment is created where bacteria cannot survive, making for a natural energy-saving way of preserving food.

Amongst the fermented ingredients Panos used were kombucha (green tea and sugar), tepache (pineapple peel and rind), aquafaba (beans and other pulses) and sauerkraut (fermented cabbage). Combining them with Johnnie Walker Black Label Whisky, the result was a particularly dry and exceptionally refreshing sour.

Choose local

Supporting local producers is a crucial part of the sustainability journey, economically, environmentally and culturally. Panostook the classic Bloody Mary and reimagined it with some outstanding local ingredients, combining them with Ketel One Vodka. Amongst these ingredients were Santorini tomatoes, ouzo-scented hot peppers and oregano from Chalkidiki. Another nice touch was the serve itself, utilising miniature tins that had previously contained the tomato paste used in the drink.

Not only did it use a wide range of local ingredients, it was one of the tastiest Bloody Marys we’ve ever enjoyed.

Learn from the humble bee

Bees have been working away on planet Earth for some 15 million years. Today a colony of 25,000 bees can pollinate 250 million flowers, but without this pollination we would run out of food, with fruit such as pears, apples and strawberries becoming increasingly scarce.

Inspired by the life of the bee and its by-products, Panos devised an Old-Fashioned based on Roe & Co Irish Whiskey. With its hints of creamy vanilla, pear, spices and, importantly, honey, along with a bee pollen garnish, we loved its exceptional smoothness.

One pop up bar isn’t going to change the world overnight but it proved that sustainability can be as delicious as it is conscientious.